News & Events

News & Events

NBC NEWS: Fearful of ‘Covid 2.0,’ Maui business owners say they welcome tourism

The wildfires have sparked tension between grieving residents who say now is not the time to travel to the island and those who rely on tourism to survive.

By Alicia Victoria Lozano. Photos by Josiah Patterson for NBC News.

Aug. 18, 2023, 10:00 AM HST — LAHAINA, Hawaii — Nearly two weeks after deadly wildfires burned much of west Maui to the ground and left more than 100 people dead, the island remains open for business, say workers and shop owners who rely on tourism to pay their bills. But their desire to keep visitors coming has sparked tensions with residents who say now is not the time to travel to the island.

“We’re really in pain, but I have no trouble with a customer coming in with a smile on their face,” said Panna Cappelli, whose art gallery on Front Street and the work of some 200 local artists were all but destroyed when the historic town of Lahaina was leveled.

Cappelli has three galleries on other parts of the island that were not affected by the fire, and said she cannot afford to pay her employees or donate to Lahaina residents if customers don’t continue shopping: “I need them to buy something.” …

Click here to read the full article on nbcnews.com.

INSIDER: A Maui restaurant owner is ‘praying visitors will start to come back soon’

By Jyoti Mann.

Aug 20, 2023, 5:19 AM HST — EXCERPTED FROM ORIGINAL ARTICLE — … Panna Cappelli, owner of the Maui Hands art galleries, added that it was “hard to be” in her Makawao store “greeting the few remaining tourists with a smile” when she wanted to cry after her Lahaina gallery burned down in one of the fires.

“One gets the feeling that trouble cannot find you out here, on a tiny speck in the ocean,” she said. “It did, in the perfect storm of intense wind and drought and we are horrified at the consequences. Everyone you speak to has a story of loss. Everyone you speak to has a story of heroism.”

She said tourists should still visit Maui but asked them to “be respectful,” saying she didn’t want people to take photos of where their homes and businesses once stood and make them talk about their pain and losses. …

Click here to read the full article on businessinsider.com.

KHON2: Hotel to homeless: Displaced Maui residents face uncertainty

By Bryce Moore.

Sep 26, 2023, 06:01 PM HST — HONOLULU (KHON2) — Lahaina residents who lost their homes have been staying in hotels, but where will they go next? Some property owners have opened up rentals and those who were displaced hope longer-term solutions materialize.

… Nearby residents are trying to step up for others. Panna Cappelli renovated her cottage in Kula and spent the last month painting, cleaning and furnishing.

“And I really would like to help somebody devastated by the fire as opposed to just renting it,” Cappelli said.

Cappelli is open to month-to-month tenants and said the cottage will be available indefinitely.

“I think people are so, so unsettled right now. I’m not asking anybody to commit anything,” Cappelli said. “This needs to evolve into permanent spaces.” …

Click here to read the full article and view the video segment on khon2.com.

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